Texas officials OK wind-power project

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas officials gave preliminary approval Thursday to the nation’s largest wind-power project, a plan to build billions of dollars worth of new transmission lines to bring wind energy from gusty West Texas to urban areas.

Texas is already the national leader in wind power, and supporters say Thursday’s move by the Public Utility Commission will make the Lone Star State a leader in moving energy to the urban areas that consume it.

“We will add more wind than the 14 states following Texas combined,” said PUC Commissioner Paul Hudson. “I think that’s a very extraordinary achievement. Some think we haven’t gone far enough; some think we’ve pushed too far.”

Environmentalist and consumer groups called the move a critical expansion of the “renewable energy superhighway,” predicting it will spur wind energy projects, create jobs, reduce energy costs and reduce pollution.

Texas electric customers will bear the cost of the $4.9 billion plan over the next several years, paying about $4 more per month on their electric bills, according to Tom Smith, director of the Texas office of consumer advocacy.

group Public Citizen.